Shoe heel



W. J. WALSH June 17, 1952 SHOE HEEL Filed Nov. .5, 1949 43 Z6./A/l/E/vro Patented June 17, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE HEELWilliam J. Walsh, Lemay, Mo.

Application November 5, 1949, Serial No. 125,674 12 claims. (o1. ers-34)The present invention relates to a shoe heel construction, andparticularly to a shoe heel that can be made by molding a plasticmaterial.

Heretofore plastic heels have been made, but there have always beenproblems of constructing them so that they could be nailed to the shoe,especially without changing conventional wood heel nailing machines; andthere have been problems of providing for attaching of a top lift to theheel. These various problems have all involved those of molding, for anyplastic heel must be capable of being molded.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a heel that can bemolded, and yet which has adequate means for attachment between the heeland the shoe, and between the top lift and the heel. Especially is it anobject to provide such a heel that can be nailed to a shoe by aconventional nailing machine, that can receive and hold the usual drivescrew; and that can tightly but releasably hold a top lift. Specicallyit is an object to provide such a heel with a flexible tongue engageableto hold a top lift securely but releasably, and especially to providesuch a tongue formed as an integral part of the molded heel. Anotherfeature is the arrangement of this tongue from the plastic materialitself rather than as an insert.

Another object is to provide a heel that can be molded from plasticmaterial, and which is' light in Weight with no sacrifice of strength.In particular, it is an object to provide such a heel in which aplurality of spaced walls form an area to receive the nails, and at thesame time minimize the weight of the heel.

In another sense, it is an object to provide a heel and top liftcombination of novel character, wherein the top lift can be removablyattached to the molded heel and is held securely in the heel by ayieldable tongue formed as an integral part of the heel. And it is anobject to provide a top lift capable of operating in this shoe.

Other objects include the methods of molding the heel to accomplish thepreviously recited objectives.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan View of the completed heel;

Figure 2 is a vertical lengthwise section on the line 2--2 of Figure l,through the heel;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 3 3 ofFigure 2;

Figure 4 is a lengthwise vertical section taken on the line 4 4 ofFigure 1;

Figure 5 is a transverse horizontal section on the line 5--5 of Figure2;

Figure 6 is another transverse horizontal section on the line 6--6 ofFigure 2;

Figure 7 is a top view of a top lift for use with the heel;

Figure 8 is a lengthwise secti-on similaito Figure 2 but showing the toplift in place; and

Figure 9 is a lengthwise vertical section through the top lift, taken onthe line 9-9 of Figure 7.

The heel, generally designated Iii, has a heel seat portion l l that isproperly concave to receive the bottom of the heel part of a shoe. Italso has a bottom l2 to which a top litt i3 is attached. The heelillustrated is a French style approximately 2|-8 in size, but it willbeI entirely evident that the present invention may be used with otherstyles and sizes of heels.

The heel l0 has a forward slot-like opening l5 that extends from the topto the bottom, the slot defining the forward wall i6 oi the heel. 1n thepreferred construction, the wall i@ is provided with a backwardlyprojecting lip il with an arcuate upper surface. Back of the opening I5,there is an integral area I8 that extends al most to the bottom I2 ofthe heel, and which area has a plurality of vertical slots i9. Asindicated by the dotted lines in Figure 4, these vertical slots I 9 willextend down varying distances where the side walls of the heel convergedownwardly, and the slots should not extend through the side walls. Alsothe slots, for purposes of strength, should not extend to forward andbackward limits of the area IS, so that the effect is that there areforward and backward walls 20 and 2i, at the ends the slots.

Back of the area lll, there is a vertical slot 23 that extends from topto bottom of the heel, and merges with the slot i5 below the area Behindthe slot 23, there is a wall 25 that extends from top to bottom of theheel, and back of the wall 25 there is a slot 2% also preferablyextending through the top of the heel, and necessarily opening throughthe bottom of the heel for a purpose to appear.

The wall 25 extends across the heel and from the top to the bottomthereof. At its bottom edge, it preferably has a forwardly projectinglip 21. There are two vertical slots 2B and 2d extending upwardly fromthe bottom E2 of heel, to a point somewhat below the top. These twoslots sepa-rate a tongue 3Q from the rest of the wall 25, which tongueis integral with the rest of the wall at its upper end., but whichextends downwardly to provide a flexible com nector means having the lip2 at its bottom edge. By virtue of the slots 28 and 29, the two open- 3ings 23 and 26 merge at the bottom, with the tongue 30 in the space. Thetongue 30 can be displaced backwardly from its illustrated positionuntil stopped by the back wall 32 of the heel.

The part of the heel back of the opening 26 and extending to the backwall 32 has a plurality of more or less arcuate vertical slot openings33 extending downwardly from the top, but they should not penetrate theside and back wall 32. The openings `33 may be separated if desired, bysuch as the wall 34, this -wall providing additional strength.

The foregoing arrangement provides an opening 35 in the bottom I2, thathas forward and rearward lips I1 and 21, the rearward lip 21 being onthe flexible spring-like tongue 30. 'A top lift I3 has a plug 40 on it,engageable in the recess 25. This plug 4I) is preferably generallyarcuate on its front and rear edges at 4I and 42 corresponding to thearcuate upper surfaces of the lips I1 and 21, and in anyk eventoverhangs so as to interengage over'the lipsv I1 and 21. The roundededge- 42 is flanked by two projecting abutments 43 and 44, themselvessomewhat rounded on their upper corners. In the preferred construction,the plug 40 is integrally molded with the top lift, as from a plasticsubstance that is somewhat yieldable to -have exibility when the shoe isused.. Y Y

It will be seen that the heel can bemolded in a two-part mold. Theopenings I5, I9, 23,26, and 33 can all be formed by blades attached tothe top mold piece. These blades also will form the lips I1 and 21. Themold bottom piece can have a plug that extends upwardly in the bottom I2inside of the lips I1 and 21, and also to form in whole or in part thetop lift plug recess 35 within said lips, and two pins that form theslots 28 and 29 separating oif the tongue 30. These various molded partscan be strong, owing to their being blade-like, whereas in formerplastic heels the upper area has been formed with a plurality of holes,by pins, that are comparatively delicate.

The heel is nailed to a shoe by conventional nailing machine practice.Usually ve nails are used, entering at about the points a, b, c, d, ande into the upper surface of the heels, usually at an angle. The slots I9and 33 are narrower than the nails, and will hold any nails driven intoI them. The walls adjacent the slots and dividing them, as well as thewalls 2D, 2l and 35, are of thin enough section that, when made ofconventional thermoplastic or like material, they can be penetrated bythe nails freely when the nailing machine is operated. The drive screwwhen used usually will enter about at the point s, and usually enters atan angle.

The top lift I3 can be snapped into position. The forward part 4I of itsplug is engaged over the lip I1 and is laterally held against the sidewalls, here shown with two shoulders 46 and 41. Then the rear roundedpart 42 is pressed upward with the shoulders 43 and 44 resting in thebottoms of the slots 28 and 29, and back against the back wall 32. Thislatter action deects the tongue until the top lift is seated, at whichtime the lip 21 will snap back under the rear overhang 42 on the toplift plug 40. The top lift will hold securely in use, but may be priedolf for replacement by slipping a tool under its back edge, the roundedunder part of the overhang of the plug displacing the tongue 30 backwarduntil the plug is free of the lip 21. Thus the walking load on the toplift is all actually taken 4 against fixed walls of the heel, so that inthe preferred construction the tongue 3D is required to act only as alatch.

What is claimed is:

1. A heel construction comprising a heelshaped piece, having an area toreceive fastenings driven thereinto, said area comprising a plurality ofrelatively narrow vertical walls and a plurality of relatively narrowslots between the walls coextensive with substantially thev entirefastening area, that render the area capable of being penetratable bythe fastenings, the walls and slots being generally arcuate to conformto the shape of the heel, said arcuate walls and slots being in at leasttwo groups, there being a wall that extends generally radially of theheel between the said groups.

2. A heel construction comprising a heelshaped piece having outsidewalls and a plurality of vertical walls within the outside walls withopenings between said walls, one of said walls extending downwardly toadjacent the bottom of the piece, lthe bottom of the piece having anopening therein, the said one of the walls being separate from theoutside walls at its lower portion to provide a tongue yieldable towardthe outside walls.

3. A heel construction comprising a heelshaped piece of plastic materialhaving outside walls and a recess in the bottom part thereof, a ilexibletongue integral with the heel at one end and having its free endextending adjacent said recess, the free end of the tongue beingseparate from the side walls and being yieldable, whereby it may permitenlargement of the recess.

4. A heel construction comprising a heelshaped piece of plastic materialhaving outside walls and a recess in the bottom part thereof, a flexibletongue having an integral connection with the heel at one end and havingits free end extending adjacent said recess, the free end of the tonguebeing separate from the side walls and being yieldable, whereby it maypermit enlargement of the recess, the tongue being opposite a wall ofsaid recess, and the said wall and the bottom of the tongue havingprojecting lips.

5. A heel construction comprising a heelshaped piece of plastic materialhaving outside walls and a recess in the bottom part thereof, a exibletongue having an integral connection with the heel at one end and havingits free end extending adjacent said recess, the free end of the tonguebeing separate from the side walls and being yieldable, whereby it maypermit enlargement of the recess, the tongue being opposite a wall ofsaid recess, and the said wall and the bottom of the tongue havingprojecting lips, the lip on the tongue sloping downwardly and toward theother lip on its upper surface, and a top lift having a plug engageablein said recess, which plug is undercut to engage said lips and has theundercut engageable with the lips of the tongue sloping downwardly andforwardly whereby the top lift will be held securely but removably onthe heel.

6. A heel construction comprising a heelshaped piece of plastic materialhaving outside walls and a recess in the bottom part thereof, a ilexibletongue having an integral connection with the heel at one end and havingits free end extending adjacent said recess, the free end of the tonguebeing separate from the side walls and being yieldable, whereby it maypermit enlargementl of the recess, the tongue being opposite a wall ofsaid recess, and the said wall and the bottom of the tongue havingprojecting lips, the lip on the tongue sloping downwardly and toward theother lip on its upper surface, and a top lift having a plug engageablein said recess, which plug is undercut to engage said lips and has theundercut engageable with the lips of the tongue sloping downwardly andforwardly whereby the top lift will be held securely but removably onthe heel, and having means disposed laterally of the tongue andengageable with a fixed wall of said recess to hold the top lift againstlateral movement when it is in place in the heel.

7. A heel construction comprising a heelshaped piece of plastic materialhaving side walls, a top and bottom, a recess in the bottom to refceivea top lift, plug, a exible tongue having an integral connection at itsupper end to the heel and having its lower free end extending into saidrecess, and spaced ahead of the back wall of the recess, the back walllimiting the movement of the tongue in that direction, the tongue havinga forwardly extending lip, and the opposite recess wall having abackwardly extending projection.

8. A heel construction comprising a heelshaped piece of plastic materialhaving side walls, a top and bottom, a recess in the bottom to receive atop lift plug, a exible tongue having an integral connection at itsupper end to the heel and having its lower free end extending into saidrecess, and spaced ahead of the back wall of the recess, the back walllimiting the movement of the tongue in thatl direction, the tonguehaving a forwardly extending lip, and the opposite recess wall having abackwardly extending projection, the tongue comprising an integrallyformed part of the heel piece, there being a wall in the heel pieceextending from side to side thereof, and two slots constitutingcontinuations of the bottom recess and extending upwardly in said wallto separate the tongue part of the wall from the rest of the wall.

9. A heel construction comprising a heel member having a recess in itsend surface, a iiexible tongue having one end flxedly connected to theinterior of the heel member and its free end projecting into said recessin spaced relation to the wall of the recess so that said end can flextoward said wall, said exible end having a lip projecting away from thewall, the wall being spaced from the sides of the tongue, and aconnecting plug having overhanging means interengageable into saidrecess and over the lip of the tongue, and having lateral projectionsbeside the overhanging means interengageable in the lateral spacesbetween the tongue and the Wall of lthe heel member, and engageable attheir ends with the wall of the heel member that crosses behind thetongue.

10. In a heel, a heel member having a top and a bottom, a front wall,and a side and back wall connecting with the front wall, there being afirst vertical opening behind the front wall extending from the top ofthe heel member to the bottom, an area behind said rst vertical openingextending from the top toward the bottom but terminating above thebottom, a plurality of additional vertical openings in said area torender the area readily penetratable by fastening means such as nails, asecond vertical opening behind said area, extending from the top of theheel member through the bottom, said second opening connecting with thefirst opening below said area and providing a bottom recess in the heel,a third opening extending from the top of the heel member through thebottom, spaced back of the second opening to denne a wall between them,a pair of slots extending upwardly from the bottom providing a tongueseparate from said wall at its lower end; a plurality of generallyarcuate vertical openings in the heel member back of said third openingto provide a further area that is readily penetratable by fasteningmeans such as nails; and means shaping the lower part of the tongue andthe walls of the recess in the bottom of the heel member for lockinginterengagement with a top lift plug.

11. A shoe heel, comprising a body portion having side walls defining arecess in the bottom portion thereof; a exible tongue having an integralconnection with the body portion and having a free end extending intothe recess and spaced from one side wall toward which it can be flexed,the tongue containing a projection adjacent its lower end on the sideopposite to said side wall; and a top lift member disposed in the recessand containing an undercut portion for engagement by the projection ofthe tongue to releasably maintain it in position; said one wallcontaining shoulder portions and the top lift member containingprojection portions which abut to prevent lateral movement of the toplift member.

12. A top lift having an upper surface to fit with the bottom of a heel,a plug projecting from said upper surface, the plug having one edgeportion shaped for holding interengagement with the heel, an oppositeedge formed by two laterally disposed and substantially rigid abutmentportions projecting away from the first-named edge portions, and anundercut portion between them, the undercut portion being disposedinwardly of the abutment portions toward the first-named edge portion.

WILLIAM J. WALSH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,065,325` Calhoun Dec. 22, 19362,266,575 Treece Dec. 16, 1941 2,308,103 Pearson et al. Jan. 12. 1943

